


try to see it my way

by alullabytoleaveby



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, DestielFicletChallenge, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, cop!cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-15 00:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2207988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alullabytoleaveby/pseuds/alullabytoleaveby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Come on, man!” Dean whined as Cas pushed him into the holding cell. “Seriously?”</p>
<p>Cas sighed. “You know I can’t bend the rules for you, Dean.”</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you arrested me! I’m your friend! Your best friend!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	try to see it my way

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the destielficletchallenge on tumblr about a month ago. Just getting around to putting it up here now (because I'm awful like that)  
> Prompt: Person A gets arrested by Person B.  
> Disclaimer: I know nothing about police procedure except for what I see on TV. So this is most definitely not accurate and I don’t care in the least. Just go with it.

“Come on, man!” Dean whined as Cas pushed him into the holding cell. “Seriously?”

Cas sighed. “You know I can’t bend the rules for you, Dean.”

“I can’t believe you arrested me! I’m your friend! Your  _best_  friend!” Cas gave Dean a look before shutting the cell door with a clank and turning away. It’s not like Cas  _wanted_  to arrest Dean, but laws were laws and there was no way that Cas could get away with giving Dean a pass. The Captain, Raphael, already hated Cas’ guts and was constantly looking for an excuse to fire him. If Cas even put a toe out of line, he’d be looking for a new job. It sucked, and Cas was trying to get a transfer to a different precinct, but until then, there was nothing he could do but cross his t’s and dot his i’s.

“I didn’t even do anything wrong!” Dean shouted as Cas turned to walk back to his desk. “Those douchebags were hitting on Jo and wouldn’t take no for an answer!” 

“You and I both know that Jo can take care of herself, Dean. Perhaps you’d be wise to remember that in the future.” He slumped into his chair and set about writing up the paperwork for Dean’s arrest. Hannah, his partner, turned to him from the desk next to his and put a hand on his shoulder.

“You alright?” She asked him quietly, before shooting a quick glare towards where Dean was sitting in his cell, brooding. She’d never liked him, mostly because he’d made some sort of offensive crack about strippers and it being his birthday when Cas introduced the two of them. But she knew how much Dean meant to him. They’d been best friends since high school, they practically lived in each other’s pockets, and Cas, when he’d perhaps had just one drink too many, had spilled to her how he’d always carried a bit of a torch for him. Instead of teasing him about it (like his older brothers always had), Hannah’d been a sympathetic ear when Cas needed to vent.

“I’m fine,” he bit out. Hannah took a step back, her hands in the air in front of her, placating. Immediately, Cas regretted the harshness of his tone and he felt a touch of shame wash through him. But honestly, the whole thing was a big mess. Dean said that he was just defending Jo, their friend and bartender at their favorite local haunt, The Roadhouse. But the two men Dean beat up said that he’d attacked them, unprovoked, and there was talk about pressing assault charges. It didn’t help that, when Cas arrived, Dean had already knocked one guy unconscious and was grappling on the floor with the other. Cas was afraid that the charges would stick, even if all the evidence was circumstantial. 

So until the time that everyone at the bar was interviewed and their statements taken (hopefully absolving Dean of any wrongdoing), Dean was going to just have to sit tight.

“Don’t I at least get a phone call?” Dean shouted out. 

“Sam’s already on his way. Ellen called him,” Cas says levelly, typing in the information for his report. Dean’s mugshot was in the corner. Dean was making a face at the camera that was made even less attractive with the fresh black eye he was sporting, the skin bruised and purple, yellow around the edges. 

“Yeah, but maybe there’s someone else I want to call, you ever think of that?” Across the way, Hannah rolled her eyes.

“If you don’t quiet down, Winchester, I’m going to take you to solitary.”

“Fine! Shutting up now,” Dean grumbled, shuffling back to the corner of the cell where there was a cheap cot for him to sit on. He curled up onto it, his back to the room (and, more importantly, Cas).

Cas just hoped Sam would get there soon.

“Could you just tell me if Jo’s alright?” Dean broke his silence a few minutes later. “I lost track of her in the crowd.”

“ _Winchester_ ,” Hannah hissed, annoyed.

“Hannah, why don’t you go and make some coffee. We’re going to be here a while,” Cas suggested. Hannah turned her glare on him.

“I’m not your personal assistant, Castiel.”

“Hannah,” Cas pleaded. The last thing he needed tonight was his best friend and his partner getting into it. And their sniping was definitely not helping the headache that was already blooming behind his eyes. Hannah huffed.

“Fine. Whatever you say,  _Commander_ ,” she bit out before stomping off to the break room. 

“Oooo, Commander, huh?” Dean asked with a grin. “Kinky.” Hannah flipped him off over her shoulder before she disappeared around the corner.

“What, exactly, are you hoping to accomplish by pissing off me and my partner, Dean?” Cas asked exasperatedly.

“She’s an easy target.”

“And me?” Dean shrugged.

“Forgive me if I’m not really inclined to make your life easy right now, Cas.” Cas spared a glance over to Dean, who’d gotten up off the cot and was leaning against the bars, his face an angry storm of emotions and the bruise near his eye looking worse than when he came in. Cas frowned and went to the break room—surely there was an icepack or something he could give Dean to help the swelling go down. 

Dean was back on the cot, turned away, when Cas came back. Cas reached through the bars and called out his name.

“What?” Dean snapped.

“Some ice. For your eye.” Dean let out a loud breath but he turned over and got up.

“Thanks, I guess.” Dean took the ice and pressed it to his bruised face, wincing a bit at the contact. “It’s cold.”

“Well, it’s ice,” Cas said with a raised eyebrow. Dean rolled his eyes.

“Yeah yeah, I’m an idiot, gotcha,” Dean grumbled, shuffling back to the cot to sit down.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Silence. “Jo’s fine. A little roughed up, but last I heard, defending your good name.”

“Then why am I in here, Cas?” 

“They know you’re friends. They say you’re lying.”

“I’m not!” Dean insisted and Cas rubbed his hand over his face.

“I  _know_  that Dean, and it will only be a matter of time, I’m sure, until people’s statements clear you of wrongdoing, but until then I had to bring you in.”

“Whatever man. Let me know when Sam gets here.”

Cas went back to work, filling out his paperwork. Sam showed up twenty minutes later, his lips pursed and hell in his eyes as he walked right into Cas’ captain’s office. Cas couldn’t make out what they were saying, but voices were raised. He hoped it wouldn’t hurt Dean’s chances of getting out. Raphael was an intimidating man and knowing Castiel’s relationship with Dean, he wasn’t likely to give in quietly or easily. But Sam was a great lawyer and testament to his abilities, fifteen minutes later, the Captain opened the door and bellowed.

“Novak!” Cas sat up straight and turned towards his boss.

“Yes sir?”

“Release Winchester and get both of them out of here.  _Now_ ,” he barked and Castiel scrambled to his feet to unlock the cell door. Having heard the commotion, Dean was already up and waiting. He presented his wrists for Cas to uncuff, but refused to look at his friend, focusing instead on his brother.

“All charges dropped, man.” Dean let out a little laugh.

“Thanks Sammy, I owe you one.” 

“Right. Well you can make it up to me by not starting anymore bar fights. You’re in your thirties Dean,” Sam lectured and Dean rolled his eyes as he rubbed his wrists. “I would really like to not get anymore phone calls asking me to bail you out in the middle of the night, okay? I have court in the morning, dude.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll stop the brawling just for you, okay Sam? I promise, no more fighting. Besides, I’d really rather not have to deal with this again,” he murmured. Sam threw his arm around Dean’s shoulder in a half hug as they walked towards the elevator. Neither of them spoke a word to Cas, their anger clear. Cas knew it was probably best to let them both cool off before trying to apologize, but then again, Cas never really did what was best for him.

He ran after them down the hallway.

“Dean! Sam! Wait!” He called out, catching up to them. “I’m sorry.” 

Sam glanced at Dean out of the corner of his eye, questioning, and Dean gave him a nod.

“I’m just gonna go…make myself scarce,” Sam said, walking back the way they came, leaving Dean and Cas alone.

“I’m sorry, Dean,” Cas said again the moment Sam was out of earshot.

“Yeah well,” Dean shrugged. “I’m not sure that’s good enough.”

“Why not?” Cas chose to believe that his tone of voice was politely demanding rather than whiny.

“Because you  _arrested_ me!” Dean shouted. “You slapped me in cuffs, threw me in the back of your car, and let your crazy partner drive me back to the station.”

“I had no choice, Dean.”

“You always have a choice, Cas.” Dean’s eyes were hard, uncompromising and they were breaking Cas heart. 

“Well sometimes, neither of them are good,” Cas responded, quietly. Dean’s face softened slightly.

“Cas?” He questioned. Cas looked down at the floor. It would be easier to say if he wasn’t looking at Dean.

“You know the Captain has it out for me. I knew you’d be mad at me but I didn’t want to give him any reason to come after you, because of my ‘misconduct’. I figured Sam would get you off—the charges were barely justifiable—but I couldn’t take the risk that he’d take anything more than a passing notice of you. You’re my best friend Dean and I lo—I care about you. A lot. I didn’t want you to get hurt. And I  _know_ :my actions hurt you anyways. But I figured it was the lesser of two evils. He could make your life very hard, Dean. He knows a lot of people.” Once he was finished, Dean reached out, cupped Cas’ face with his hand and forced him to look back up at him. 

He studied Cas face and after a couple seconds, Cas squirmed under the scrutiny. But Dean didn’t break his gaze. And then suddenly, the anger and the hardness in Dean’s face melted away completely and turned into something like surprise and awe and relief.

“It’s okay Cas,” he said softly. “I think I—I get it now.”

“You do?” Cas asked and he wasn’t sure if it was dread or excitement that welled up in his gut.

“Yeah,” he said, breathless before he leaned in and pressed his lips to Cas’, the touch too quick for Cas to really react. Dean grinned. “You free on Saturday?”

“Yes?” Cas’ voice cracked, unsure but hopeful. 

“Great, I’ll pick you up at 6.” He pressed the down button on the elevator. “Just…leave your handcuffs at home this time. Unless you’re into that.” Dean winked. Cas choked on air, his face flaming.

“Dean!” Dean laughed at him and grabbed his uniform top to pull him closer, kissing him properly this time. They didn’t stop until the elevator doors binged open a couple minutes later.


End file.
